Cretaceous Nightmare
by asgardianmints
Summary: A young boy is killed by something while camping. The team go in to investigate, while Jess has to deal with informing them on anomalies that appear on the ADD hours after they close. Overwhelmed by creatures and these anomalies, how will the team cope?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, people. Before you ask me why I'm posting so many chapters and new _other_ stories, and forgetting about How To Kill A Mockingjay, I just want you to know that I have not and will never forget about it. I'm sure you'll live without the next chapter for the next few days.**

**Now if you're not a fan of The Hunger Games, and you've just come here to read this story, then disregard the section above. Anyway, this isn't a story with any major twists, I'm sorry to say, it's a typical incursion episode with some new creatures (I hope). I promise I'll do my best with it, though. And the title is still in the workshop, so if you have any ideas, do suggest them :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>A camping site; three large tents surrounding a crudely built fire. Only one person remained, huddled in an oversized jacket and toasting bread over the flames and whistling an out of tune version of <em>Another one bits the dust<em>.

His mobile rang, and his whistling was cut short and turned into a sigh. He flipped open the phone and pressed it in between his ear and his shoulder.

"Yo?"

"Hey, Ken, we had a bit of bother by the lake," came the voice of Peter, one of his mates.

"Bother?"

Behind Peter's voice, was the sound of sniggering and splashing. "Yeah, to cut a long story short, we'll be back a little later than we planned. And most likely without fresh water..."

"We only have half a bottle left," protested Ken. "Either we'll squeeze it off of Gary's clothes when you get back, or you'll fill the other bottle."

"Well, if you want Gary-flavoured water for the pasta, fine-"

Ken rolled his eyes and snapped the phone shut. He stumbled with the phone and the toast and managed to get the phone stashed away inside his pocket. He looked at the toast, which was now burnt black. "Damn."

Ken took the toast off of the fork and threw it into the foliage a few metres away. He shrugged the jacket on tighter and made his way into his tent, only after he'd gone inside realising that the ground was wrong. He gingerly swirled a finger around in the dirt and it came back up covered in mud. The ground was wet.

"What the hell..."

It hadn't been raining for the whole week. It was why the group had chosen today for the camping trip. The dirt had been bone dry an hour ago. Where was the water coming from?

Ken, frowning, wandered from his tent and down the short hill the tents perched atop. It was like going down a slide, and by the time he reached the bottom his trousers and back were covered in mud. He stood up, and his boots sank a few centimetres. Here he could even see the puddles forming around the straggly shrubs.

Ken's eyes found something among the trees furthur ahead. A golden flickering. The quietness of the forest was broken by a faint metallic sound, and with it was the unmistakeable sound of water trickling. Slowly, but surely.

He ran to the flickering, fully captured by curiosity, and when he'd approached it his boots were lowering rapidly into the muck. Ken stared in wonder at the thing before him. A circular, flickering mass of what looked like shards of crystal. Ken walked around the thing, because there was no doubt that the water was coming from one side of it.

Was there something through there? Could it be possible?

Ken was now trying desperately to fight his curiosity, but despite his efforts still found himself stepping ever closer. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath. Air was suddenly rushing past him and the sounds and smells of the forest were rapidly disappearing. All this he experienced in a second and when he opened his eyes he almost had a panic attack.

Water. All around him, was what looked like incredibly deep water. Above the water, and only a mere few inches above Ken's head was a rock ceiling. He was looking from the forest into some kind of underwater cave. And somehow he was breathing.

The cogs of his brain were struggling to process it all, when he realised that if water is travelling through what he thinks should be called 'The Window', air could be travelling from the forest into the cave. Before he could think about it, Ken found himself reaching a hand through the Window and underneath the water itself.

"This is so cool," whispered Ken to himself, fear levels lowering. "And slightly freaky."

He swirled his hand around in the water and he was about to pull it back when-

"Ah!" he gasped, at the sudden pain in his hand. He looked down and saw the cloud of red liquid floating to the surface, and the dark shadow moving around his hand. In a heartbeat, he backed up and fell backwards onto the muddy ground. Only the something that attacked his hand wasn't gone. It was still attatched.

And biting.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. I only own Peter and Ken. (The latter probably won't be in it anymore, I'm afraid...)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: No reviews as of yet, but I'm really excited for this story. Not sure why. This chapter did look longer when I was re-reading it on Word, oh well. There will be some dinosaur action in the next chapter, I promise. Anyway, please review!**

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><p>"And the call was about...?"<p>

Jess' voice crackled through Matt's earpiece, and the sound mingled with the sound of the SUV's engine as it cruised down the canopied road. "Three teenage boys were camping in the woods last night and one of them was killed."

"How do we know it was a creature attack?"

"The boy who was killed, Ken Healy, was found lying in a pool of mud and blood. Half his hand was bitten off and nowhere near, so we assume he died of blood-loss."

Connor grimaced in the back seat behind Matt. "Nice."

"Any signs of an anomaly?" asked Abby.

There was a pause, in which only the sound of static was heard through the earpieces, before Jess replied with a slightly flustered tone, "There was one early yesterday. Only... it didn't show up at the time. I've just searched the records of anomalies in the area and only one turned up. One from yesterday, and one that didn't set the ADD off."

Connor leaned in his seat and frowned, "Really?"

"Apparently, it didn't exist yesterday. Only it did," they heard Jess let out a defeated sigh. "I think I'll run a systems check. Maybe the ADD's glitched."

"Yeah. Ok, and tell me once you're finished."

Abby and Connor exchanged looks, and Becker addressed Jess again. "So this anomaly; the one that doesn't exist only it actually does - what creatures are we talking about?"

"Er, well, the report filed by the boys said that the bite marks on Ken's hand were small but they were deep enough to pierce right through the other side, so I assume it's something with a pretty powerful bite. The ground surrounding the area was unnaturally wet. I'm guessing maybe some sort of aquatic animal?"

Becker nodded, then turned to Connor, "You know of any sea creatures that suited that description?"

"Oh, tons." replied Connor with a grin. It then disappeared. "Probably not the answer you were looking for though, eh?"

"Not at all."

"In which case, I need more indications on the water conditions and content. And of course, the time the water's from."

Abby tossed the Dating Calculator into Connor's hands, "Then you'll probably need this, then, won't you?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks! I must've forgotten it back at the ARC."

Connor looked around at his team, who were all giving him a look. "What?" he said, feeling slightly humiliated. "We left in a rush."

With a few rolled eyes, the team refocused themselves on their task. Matt was still smirking at Connor's awkwardness as he made the turn into the forest carpark. Only police were at the scene, and the wooden fence surrounding the entrance path was strung with 'Police Line: Do Not Cross' tape.

"Right," said Becker as they assembled their gear. "At the risk of sounding like Fred from Scooby Doo, I think we should split up. Abby and C-" he noticed Matt staring at him, a quizzical and slightly amused frown on his face. "Oh, yes. I'm incredibly sorry, Matt. You lead on."

Matt cleared his throat, "I'll only be repeating you, so this time I'll let it slide. You three go on and I'll catch you up; I'm gonna have a talk with the officers."

Connor gave a quick salute, and proceeded to follow Abby as the made her way over the fence and into the forest.

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><p><strong>No big cliffhanger for this chap, I'm afraid. Will you get one next chapter? Wait and see :)<strong>

**And now that I think about it, a type of anomaly never seen onscreen before does count as a bit of a twist... that makes chapter one's note to be a lie, doesn't it? Sorry.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hurrah, two chapters today. I decided to treat you :) But please some reviews this time. You don't have to, but I'd appreciate it.**

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><p>It took Connor and Abby ten minutes to reach the campsite, which was now a simple, grassy clearing with a blackened firepit built into the centre. The grass was relatively cry at the edges but the closer to the edge they went, the damper and muddier the ground became.<p>

They stood just before the small slope, and looked out over where the terrain below was nearly flooded. Nestled in between three trees was a patch of mud that looked like it had been kicked and stamped on - a patch of mud tinged red.

"I'm guessing that's it." said Connor, with another slightly disgusted face.

"You like slashers, Connor," Abby said with a smirk. "So why do you get freaked out when it happens for real?"

"Because it's _real_, obviously. Anyway, do you think the creature's still around? I mean, it can't have got far. If it's aquatic. It might even be some sort of fish, by which case it'll be lying dead somewhere."

Abby nodded, and addressed her earpiece, "Hey, Jess?"

"Abby."

"Have you found the problem with the ADD, if there is one?"

Jess probably shook her head, because there was a few seconds pause, "No problem whatsoever, so that means the anomaly it didn't detect must be something different. Maybe there's something in the forest causing some sort of interference?"

"Yeah, maybe..."

"Where are the co-ordinates for the anomaly, Jess?" asked Connor, slinging his EMD over his shoulder.

"A few metres from where you're standing, actually."

Connor stole another glance at the blood-splattered mud. "So that means Ken was near or maybe even _in_ the anomaly when he was attacked. That means the anomaly couldn't have been underwater. Perhaps it was halfway through a river? That also explains why the whole place isn't insanely flooded."

Abby, without answering, picked out a pathway in the muddy slope and slid down. She jogged up to the attack site and, careful to avoid any contact with the blood, bent down and dipped her finger in one of the few clear puddles.

"Nope," she said, tasting the water droplets on her finger. "Salt. It was definately sea water. The anomaly could've been in an air pocket or something..."

Connor jogged down the same path and joined Abby, looking around with a confused expression. "We haven't even been her an hour, and my head's already seriously messed up. I hope Action Man isn't having as much trouble."

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><p>Becker was on the trail of something. He hadn't even had time to say, "Never a dull moment", when he'd heard the growl. A small, low growl. It definately hadn't come from anything large, but it definately hadn't come from anything non-threatening.<p>

"Jess?" he whispered into his earpiece. "Where was the previous anomaly site?"

"Where Abby and Connor are," replied Jess. "Nowhere near you. Why?"

"Because there's something else here. Something that definately doesn't sound like any marine beast. Is there another anomaly nearby?"

"I would have told you if there was, Becker." she said, worry clearly audible in her voice.

Becker frowned, "By the way, have you found the problem with the ADD yet?"

"No. Because there wasn't a problem. The systems are working perfectly, so the problem must be with the anomalies themselves."

"Perfect," muttered Becker, turning on his EMD and quickening his pace. "Tell Abby and Connor that there is another creature and a possible another anomaly."

"Got it."

Becker scanned the trees above him, but only seeing the sun beams snaking through gaps in the tall canopy.

Something rustled behind him, and in an instant he had his gun pointed at the offending bush. So the creature was _quite_ small. Another growl. He was sure he saw something in between the branches, and was prepared to shoot-

"Becker!"

Jess' sudden exclaimation nearly made him jump out of his skin, so he was unfocused when he was jumped on by something barely taller than a collie. Becker punched it off the second he saw the needle-like teeth, and fumbled with the EMD.

"Becker?"

"Just a second, Jess." he hissed, having trouble targeting the thing as it darted from side to side with a bird-like growl. He eventually managed to shoot it when it stopped for a second to prepare to launch again. Feeling humiliated at being attacked by something so small, Becker bent down to examine the unconscious creature. Bipedal, lightly feathered, with large eyes and a wide jaw. It was no doubtably some kind of raptor, albeit a miniscule one.

"Right," said Becker, regaining his dignity. "What it is, Jess?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"There is another anomaly nearby."

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Still no reviews. Come on, guys. Not trying to be rude here but reviews are nice and motivating. Anyway, here's a longer chapter for you. Enjoy it!**

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><p>"So what is it?" asked Becker, standing behind Matt as the older man was on one knee and examining the creature. Becker had his EMD at the ready in case another tiny dinosaur wanted to try it's luck, but there wasn't any signs of movement.<p>

"Definately some kind of dromaeosaurid, but you'll have to ask Connor about the _exact _species."

"dromaeosaurids," repeated Becker. "A velociraptor is one of them, right?"

"Yes, Becker. Well done."

Becker scowled, but for once didn't particuarly feel like arguing back. "Jess," he said, raising his voice for the earpiece. "I don't see an anomaly anywhere. Are you sure the ADD isn't glitched?"

"Third time I've checked, Becker, and I am fairly certain that the ADD isn't glitched."

"Then what the hell is happening?" he sighed, and Matt stood back up. "I'll go get Connor and Abby. After Jess, Connor is the only other person who could probably figure the anomaly problem out."

Matt nodded, "Good idea." he paused, and put on a mock frown. "Are you trying to upstage me today?"

"Maybe," agreed Becker with a smirk. He began to jog into the forest. "Back in a flash."

Matt watched him go, and then turned his attention back to the dinosaur. Now curled up into an almost fetal-like position, the feathers on its arms and tail covering most of its small body. At first glance anyone would think it's a baby, but then they'd see those teeth. Matt managed to refrain from shuddering, but then he noticed something.

He had no idea how he noticed it from his angle, but he was glad he did. Matt leaned closer and narrowed his eyes. On the teeth framing the creature's open mouth, were grooves. On every tooth, leading up into the gums, and unmistakable as a feature only seen in venomous reptiles. This particular, pint-sized dromaeosaurid had a venomous bite.

"Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah, Jess?"

"Becker's reaching the anomaly. Is he trying to find Abby and Connor?"

Matt chewed his lip, "Yeah, he is."

"Well, could you tell him and the others that the anomaly that's open and the one that _was_ open are only about ten metres apart? New information on both anomalies is coming in seriously late. And before you ask me why I didn't just tell him, Abby and Connor over the earpieces, I already tried. But the comms are down."

"So, these anomalies are obviously weak. Any chance they're messing with the signal?"

"Quite a big one." replied Jess.

Matt made a snap desicion to leave the creature where it was. The EMD was on a setting higher then recommended for a dinosaur of its size, so it'll be out for hours yet. "Ok, good to know. I'll go off to find the others now; I have a thing to tell them, too."

"Anything I should know?"

Matt nodded. "There's most likely a pack of venemous, mini raptors prowling these woods."

There was a pause, before Jess said, "Yeah... well, be careful."

"Good advice."

At the sound of static, Matt took a last glance at the creature before taking off in the direction Becker went.

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><p>Abby and Connor had been scanning the forest floor for a while now, and still nothing. No sign of any water creature, only a lot of water that was quickly evaporating in the afternoon sun.<p>

"You know, all this time I've been looking for tracks." stated Connor.

"Yes, so have I."

"Well, maybe this thing doesn't have feet."

"Flippers would make tracks too, Connor," replied Abby tersely. "So would anything mobile."

Connor sighed. "Only making suggestions."

"And I appreciate it. Got any more?"

Connor didn't answer straight away. He was staring at something. Abby poked him on the shoulder, "Connor?"

Connor ran over to a bush in front of them, and pulled back the heavily leafed branches to reveal something silver and shining. Abby's eyes widened when she realised what the shining thing was. Scales. She joined Connor and the attacker was finally identified.

"Is that a fish?" asked Abby in disbelief.

"It's an enchodus," said Connor. "A bony fish from the Cretaceous, often known among paleoichthyologists as the 'Sabre-toothed Herring'."

The fish was about the size of a salmon, with a sleek silver body, large eyes and pointed fins. The thing that really stood out was the teeth in its ugly maw. It's nickname certainly suited him, and it definately suited the description of the bite marks on Ken's hand. Connor found a trial of blood leading back to where the original anomaly site, and not just human blood.

"Birds have been at it." observed Abby, noting the broken skin on the fishes softer body parts. "Must be why it's so far away from the attack site."

"But how could it have left the water in the first place?"

"An underwater cave. It's the only way. Ken must've gotten too curious and had a look through the anomaly. If the anomaly was halfway in the water, it would've already sparked the attention of a shoal. One of the fish must have jumped and latched onto his hand."

"I think I know where the other half of Ken's hand has gone, anyway."

Abby grimaced, and pushed Connor's shoulder. "Imagine that..."

"Don't really want to."

"Now come on, we need to find Becker and Matt."

The two of them left the fish, Connor rather over-eagerly, and took off into the foliage. Connor kept getting tangled in brambles or hit by twigs hanging overhead, but Abby ignored his pleas to slow down and simply picked up the pace.

She was becoming so distracted with annoying Connor that she didn't notice Becker until she nearly crashed into him.

"Woah!" he said, trying and failing to hide his shock. "Abby, watch it."

"Sorry," Abby said, breathless from running. "We were coming to find you."

"Well, you found me."

"And we found the culprit behind Ken's death. A type of predatory fish called an enchodus. It's dead, but if you saw it's teeth..."

Becker looked distracted, and was frowning. Connor waved a hand, "Earth to Action Man? We found the fish. So we don't have to- what are you looking for?"

"An anomaly. Jess told me there's another anomaly right here; another strange one."

"Was the information late again? If so it could've been closed for hours," said Abby. "Wait, what if more creatures came out?"

"They did. One of them attacked me - some tiny, feathered raptor. They hunt in packs, don't they?"

Connor nodded.

"Then there's more around. I only took out the one."

"Feathered..." said Connor. "Could be a hesperonychus. Or a graciliraptor."

Abby punched him again, "We'll worry about the species later! The real problem now is the pack of raptors running around. What if one attacks someone? Like one of the policemen?"

Becker's answer was drowned out by another sound. Then more, ranged from a scratchy growl to a high-pitched chirping bark. The bushes rustled violently, and leaves flew out from them. The trio watched as pairs of bright eyes appeared in between the leaves, and fixed on their new prey. The pack was here.

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><p><strong>I'm not sure about the size of the enchodus, but I think I have it right. Hope you liked this chapter. Please review!<strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hooray! Thanks to RextheCoeulurosauruvus for reviewing. Now I actually have a reason to write more :P**

**And if anyone's wondering where Emily is; I was halfway through the third chapter when I realised I'd forgotten about her (Yes, I know, shameful). So let's say this story's set between the series four finale and when Emily came back in the raptor episode of five.**

**Hope you like this one.**

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><p>"Nobody move." whispered Connor urgently.<p>

"These things aren't T-Rex's, Connor," hissed Becker. "We have to move."

"The whole pack is here. They don't look like much but if we try and run they'd easily take us down. Remember Jurassic Park?"

Becker rolled his eyes, "All too well. But the ones in Jurassic Park weren't dwarf raptors."

Abby hit them both on the shoulder, "Pack it in, you two!"

The tiny dinosaurs were approaching slowly, like cats playing with their prey before finishing them off. Their feathers were fuffling in the breeze, and their chirps filled the air.

"Where the hell is Matt?" said Becker.

"Why don't you ask him?" replied Connor.

"Gee, thanks Connor," at Abby's glare, Becker lowered his voice and stated quite un-sarcastically, "The anomalies must be interfering with the comms."

"What anomalies? The ADD was obviously wrong. There's nothing-"

Connor's words turned into a shocked grunt as he slipped on a dislodged stone. The raptors went livid, and their mouths all shot open with an ear-splitting squeal. Becker still wanted to find it funny. Creatures so small being this much of a threat, but he was proccupied.

Abby was trying to get Connor to his feet whlie Becker was shooting at the raptors as the tried to jump onto them. He managed to shoot the first few without any trouble, but there were too many.

"Abby! Connor! Fancy doing anything?" he snapped, as one raptor took hold of his shirt and ripped at the rabric.

"Gah, there's too many!" said Abby, as the took out her EMD.

"Maybe we should run for it!" suggested Connor, seeming to forget about the EMD and waving his arms around to keep the dinosaurs away. Becker looked annoyed, but instead of saying anything took it out on one of the creatures by kicking it off of where it was trying to bite at his trouser leg. It fell backwards into the pack, and they stopped to examine it.

"Now!" shouted Abby. "Run!"

The three of them took off, but they heard the raptor's roars of pleasure as they set out on their hunt. After reaching the original anomaly site, they clambered up the slope and took refuge behind a large rock on the edge of the clearing.

Despite the burning in their chests, they didn't breathe for fear of their pursuers hearing them. Not until the chirping became less frequent. Abby dared to speak, "They haven't given up. I think they're trying to isolate our scents."

"This is so ridiculous."

"For God's sake, Becker. That's all you can think about? Shouldn't you be trying to get us out of here?"

"I'm thinking of a way." said Becker.

They jumped as more shots rang out. EMD shots. Becker and Abby ran out from behind the rock to see Matt. The pack was now focusing on him and a few of them were lying on the ground, curled up by the hands of the EMD. The three of them coming to the same conclusion, they raised their weapons. Combined with Matt's aims, they managed to knock out all but five of them. Sensing defeat, the creatures bolted.

Connor slumped down against the rock and wiped his forhead. "This job really takes it out of you..."

Matt jogged up to them, his face the opposite of Becker and Abby's breathless smiles of relief. "Sorry I took so long."

"At least you're ok. God knows how many other creatures are out there. These anomalies are incredibly unstable."

"Yeah, I know," nodded Matt. "Jess told me."

After a failed attempt at adjusting his earpiece, Becker said, "You talked to Jess? How?"

"The comms only mess up in certain areas. Areas I'm certain either contain an unstable anomaly or did contain one. So far, all Jess has been able to find out is that the anomalies are giving off seriously erratic elecromagnetic interference. Not only does it ruin the ADD's efficiency, it also lingers in the anomaly's position for hours after it closes." explained Matt, checking his EMD for damage after a bite from the raptors. "And by the way, Connor? What type of dromaeosaurid was that?"

Connor frowned and sucked his cheeks, "Erm, the most likely candidate is sinornithosaurus. Not entirely sure, though. You know... maybe I should get back to the ARC. Check on the ADD, maybe try and find something able to counteract the effects of the new anomalies."

Matt nodded, "Right, I'll come with you. Becker, you stay with Abby. I'll send a container; there's too many of the raptors to leave them here."

"Ok."

"Ah, and I forgot to mention," added Matt. "I know you'll be doing this anyway, but take extra care not to let the raptors bite you."

Abby was the first to click, before Becker or Connor could say something sarcastic. "Because they're poisonous," Abby waited for Matt to nod. "Venom sacks, am I right? Pumping poison down through indents in the teeth. Like gila monsters?"

"Spot on, Abby," Matt said. "I'll be back soon, and the container'll arrive in about half an hour."

"Bye." said Connor quickly before following Matt.

Becker and Abby looked around them, at the dinosaurs lying around them and reminding them too much of playschool children at naptime. By rights they should wait here for the container, but the forest was massive. There could be another pack out there, gathering strength with the members of the downed one, for all they knew.

"Do you think I should stay here?" asked Abby.

Becker raised an eyebrow at her. "With the toy dinos?"

"Yes," she replied with an amused sigh. "With the toy dinos. The container will be here soon but I can't wait for it while I'm trying to locate any more threats."

"I really shouldn't leave you, not with the earpieces acting up. Hopefully Connor'll hurry up and fix those damned comms before anything else tries to eat us."

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval. All rights belong to Impossible Pictures. Although I wish I did own it, because even after that epic cliffhanger of the five finale, they're still gonna cancel the show and replace it with a Canadian version. It'll be like Torchwood all over again... ok, ok, rant over. That was a long disclaimer...<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Massive thanks to RextheCoeulurosauruvus, E4Whovian and Crystal2222 for reviewing. It really means a lot :) And also, a thanks to artemis89 for adding this to Story Alert. Sorry this one was so late.**

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><p>Matt and Connor arrived at the ARC, and the second they walked through the doors Jess as good as launched herself at them.<p>

"Connor! I've been trying to get hold of you for ages," she said, her undying instinct to babble rapidly taking over. "The ADD is completely fine! No problems whatsoever. It's driving me mental!"

Connor blinked at her, while Matt ran off to send that container. A small smile threatened to tug at Connor's lips, as the worry in her voice sounded so wrong in context with the sentance. After a second's pause, he regained his control, "Let me see it."

Jess led him to the machine. "The anomaly signal is still there, even though the anomaly's obviously gone. I'm sorry; I almost got you killed."

"How?" asked Connor.

"That anomaly must have opened hours ago, but since the signal came through ages after, I gave you wrong information. From the directions your black boxes took, you were all either being chased by creatures I didn't tell you about or travelling on motorbikes gone haywire"

The smile was a millicentimetre away from breaking Connor's so far straight facial expression, so he looked away from Jess and at the ADD screen. She was right. The dot indicating the anomaly's position was right where it definately wasn't when Connor had left. He looked to the side of the screen, and the information that normally appeared seconds after a new anomaly appeared was still streaming in.

"God, that's weird."

Jess rolled her eyes and nodded, "And?"

"And," Connor frowned. "Well... God, that's weird."

With a defeated sigh, Jess slid back onto her chair. Matt appeared behind Connor.

"I sent some backup for the raptors," he said. "Any luck with the anomaly problem?"

"None at all. Connor's blanked." said Jess, emotions of amusement, confusion and worry merged into her voice.

"I have not. I just... haven't seen anything like this before," he shrugged. "It could be something to do with the time the anomalies lead to. But so far all evidence points to the all-too familiar Cretaceous era, which hasn't ever caused problems with the anomalies. Give me a few more minutes."

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><p>"Easy, easy," gasped Abby as the soldiers sent by Matt loaded the slumbering dinosaurs into the van. "Wouldn't want them waking up."<p>

"Yeah, you got that right." agreed Becker, eyeing the tear on his trouser leg made before he kicked the raptor away.

"I'll take you shopping for more clothes, if you want."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I'm fine, thanks Abby," he shivered; it was getting dark. "If we're going to launch a search party for any more threats, I suggest we do it now."

"No, I'll stay here. When these guys wake up they'll be livid. Their cries will definately draw others here if there are any. You should go and look for any other anomaly."

Becker considered, and even though he still didn't look pleased, agreed. "Ok, and try to find a way to get in touch with Connor. There's no point in trying the mobiles if the comms won't work."

"Gotcha."

Abby watched as he ran off into the darkening foliage, and couldn't help but let thoughts about Connor's favourite horror films creep into her mind. The one that reminded her most of right now was Friday The 13th.

She decided to go for a short walk to clear her head, after glancing at the soldiers preoccupied with securing the dinosaurs behind her. Her boots made the twigs snap softly as she walked on, despite everything else appreciating at least some cool and fresh air.

She hoped Connor would find out something soon.

Abby let out a yelp as something moved behind her. Her EMD was out in a second. She was getting increasingly sick of being stalked like this. Despite giving her a better chance at surviving an attack, it was still irritating. And confusing.

Her EMD never leaving its position, she took off back to the soldiers. The van was in sight, and she called out to them. But she was thrown backwards as something ran into her, groaning throatily. But not in rage; in terror.

She only had enough time to notice its blunt, back-facing teeth before it was blasted off of her with a squeal. She jumped to her feet, as the creature stumbled backwards on its shaking back legs. About two metres high and long, with a thick tail and limbs, dark green mottled colouring and a red plume on its snout. It definately wasn't a carnivore.

"Are there any more?" asked Stevenson, a tall, muscled man with cropped dark hair.

"I don't think so." said Abby, looking with sympathy at the fallen herbivore.

"Is it a threat?" asked someone behind him.

"No," replied Abby. "It's a herbivore. It was just scared."

It had been running from something. Not raptors. Or it wouldn't have run straight towards the van. _It was just scared_. Of what?

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><p>Becker trudged along the uneven ground, barely breathing loudly to listen for the smallest of indications of danger. Or the metallic sound of an anomaly. Because a few minutes ago he had already heard a familiar, high bark.<p>

He looked up at the sky, and saw grey clouds streaking like snakes over the orange sun disappearing over the horizon. This was dangerous; he really should have called for some of his men to follow him.

The mud behind him squelched, and with it came low chirps. Barely audible, but unmistakeable.

Becker span around, his instinct kicking in and the EMD's shot hitting the raptor squarely in the chest. Others surrounded him, but instead of biding their time in curiosity like last time, they simply attacked. There were only about eight of them, and five went down in seconds by the EMD.

Only one of them managed to jump onto Becker's shoulder, and like lightning its own insticts compelled its jaws...

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><p><strong>I'm sorry to all Becker fans (Includng myself), and Ben Mansfeild, but I had to. Stay tuned until next time!<strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you once again to E4Whovian, who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you all like this one, and apologies in advance for its length.**

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><p>"Ok, I think I've found the problem."<p>

Connor swirled the chair around to face Jess and Matt, who up until that point had been watching intently as Connor delved into the files and databases of his own machine, even though Matt had no idea what the younger man was doing. On the ADD's many side screens were lists of equations and numbers, and on the main one was a map of the forest area. And it was covered in anomalies.

"Oh my God." whispered Jess.

"How many are there?" asked Matt, the tone of his voice unchanging.

Connor waved his hand, "These were the ones I could find relating to the stronger anomalies over the past two days, and in total there's over twenty. There could've still been smaller, weaker ones that the ADD still can't detect."

"But why is this happening?" Jess said. "Why didn't the ADD alert us when they appeared?"

"That's the point. There's too many of them. They probably caused some sort of electromagnetic energy overload and the machine couldn't cope."

"But everything else with it was working fine."

Connor shrugged, "Give me more time."

Matt, with a confused shake of his head, took off and grabbed his black box and earpiece off the table. "I need to get back to the forest. With that many anomalies opened, there could be hundreds of creatures out there. Send more backup!"

Jess called out to him, but he'd already bolted off. Instead, she turned to Connor. "Ahem. Kindly move off of my seat, please, Connor."

"Just give me a minute..."

"Move."

She pushed him lightly off the black chair and directed her full attention back to the screens, where the dot indicating Matt's location started travelling speedily down the road towards the forest. She cleared her throat and addressed the intercom, "Another unit of backup to assist Matt's team needed immediately. And Connor," the man behind her jumped at being addressed by her magnified voice. "Shouldn't you be finding a way to strengthen the comms signals?"

* * *

><p>There was no way they were able to put the herbivore in with the raptors; it would be torn to shreds in a second. Instead, Abby made do with a length of strong rope from the car and tied it tightly around the dinosaur's neck. Attatching it to a hook on the back of the SUV, it lay unstirring in forced sleep. The sky was navy now, and the moon's light was starting to show behind the taller trees in the distance. She couldn't help but feel a little worried about Becker. He'd been gone for longer than he should have now.<p>

Most of the soldiers had launched their own party into the trees due to Becker's tardiness, and the remaining three - Stevenson, Keefe and O'Brian - were talking amongst themselves about the possibility of there being a tyrannosaurus rex somewhere.

"I used to love them as a kid," said Stevenson. "You should've seen my room."

"Bet this job is an absolute dream." smirked Keefe.

"Oh yeah," Stevenson pretended to load his EMD. "Not only do I get to witniss real dinosaurs, I also get to incorporate my old love of shooting games."

Their quiet sniggers unfocused Abby from the rest of their conversation, so she aimed it back at the herbivore. It was oddly cute in that typical reptile way she always loved, with its short, rounded snout most likely best suited for eating ferns off the ground, average camoflauged scales, and a pertruding belly.

"Do you know what is is?" O'Brian asked, appearing behind her.

She managed to hide her surprise at seeing him away from is riveting conversation about childhood dream jobs, and shrugged, "I think it might be an anabisetia. Reclusive herbivores from the Late Cretaceous," she paused, throwing a glance back at the truck. "Come to think of it, they all are. The enchodus, the raptors. So far, all these creatures seem to be from anomalies that lead to the Cretaceous."

"All of them?"

"So far, yeah, because we know they all didn't come out of the same one because the enchodus was from the ocean. And the anabesitea would've been killed by the raptor pack if it came through at the same time of them."

O'Brian scratched his head in evident confusion, "And the comms are still down. When the hell are Connor and Matt coming back?"

"No idea. But they're back at the ARC. It's Becker I'm worried about."

"Becker'll be fine," said O'Brian, with a voice attempting for what seemed like the first time some reassurance. "Utterly lethal."

Abby half-smiled, and wrapped her arms around her jacket. "It's getting freezing. But we can't leave; I think we'll have to stay here tonight."

* * *

><p>The dinosaurs were all unconscious, and it seemed to be the last of them. Becker couldn't thank anyone more. The shallow bite in his shoulder had been painful, until a few minutes after the attack as he made his way back to the others. Right now it was agony, and it seemed to be spreading right through his veins. The only thing he was pleased about now was that the raptor's venom had taken longer than the therocephalian's to cause any kind of damage.<p>

Something caught his blurring eyes, something alight among the darkness surrounding the trees.

Adressing the silent earpiece out of pure habit, he muttered, "Anomaly."

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><p><strong>Cue a rather pathetic *Dun dun duuuun*. The next chapter will be longer and hopefully more action-y... is that a word?<strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness on this chapter, but I really didn't have the willpower to leave the sofa yesterday. One of those combinations of tiredness, headaches and pure laziness took me over... Thanks to all my usual reviewers on the last chapter, and to** **PlantyPi** **for adding this to Story Alert.**

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><p>Matt arrived at the soon-to-be campsite, late due to Abby calling him prior to arrival telling him to bring supplies. Although the nearer to his destination he came, the more unstable the connection had been, and her requests were cut off halfway through.<p>

"Where's Becker and the others?" asked Matt, unloading tents and supplies from his SUV.

"Becker ran off ages ago, to search for anomalies. The others haven't been gone for so long, though."

Taking the last bag, Matt shut the boot. "We need to get them back, quickly. Connor was able to find out that over twenty strong anomalies have opened in the forest over the past few days. God knows what's come through them and how many weaker ones there were. This isn't anything we've seen before."

"Well, the problem can't be with the time the anomaly leads to. All evidence points to the Cretaceous. That's never caused any problems before."

"Maybe it's worth a look." said Matt thoughtfully, seriousness lining his face.

"You mean a trip into an anomaly?"

Matt nodded slowly, "It's worth considering."

There were shouts from the edge of the forest, and Stevenson ordering someone to find a medical kit. Abby opened the front seat of the SUV and grabbed one. She and Matt left the carpark to see the soldiers helping another figure who looked close to unconsciousness.

"Becker!" gasped Abby, rushing forward with the kit, Matt quickly behind her.

"Becker?" said Matt, coming to a stop in front of them as Abby flung the medical kit open. "What happened?"

"Probably should have been more careful with those damned raptors." replied Becker weakly.

Abby stopped mid rummage, and snapped the kit shut. There wouldn't be anything in there for raptor bites. "You got bitten? Was it just the one?"

"The rest of the original pack looked like it was there, plus a few others," filled in the soldier supporting Becker's left arm. "They'd all been knocked out."

"There was an anomaly, too," said Becker, evidently struggling to keep his eyes open. "Didn't look weak... you should go before it closes."

Matt shook his head, "No, we need to get you back to the ARC first. Come on."

While Matt walked back to the SUV with the soldiers, despite Becker's complaints, Abby had a small decision conflict as to whether she should go and help or stay and find the anomaly. She wanted tp make sure Becker was ok, but he was right - she needed to find the anomaly before it closed.

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><p>Jess was working at the ADD, her undying confidence in her job keeping her from kicking something in annoyance every time a new anomaly reading came in late - like Connor would have done.<p>

He was sitting at the table in the centre of the main control hub, trying to strengthen the signal on his earpiece. So far, he hasn't had any success.

"Jess? You know I'll have to have a go on that if I'm gonna fix this problem." he said to the younger girl.

"Just try your best without it for the moment, Connor," said Jess. "I have problems of my own right now."

"Well, I could help you with them, and in the process possibly find out what the signal problem is."

Jess glanced over her shoulder at Connor's expectant grin and raised eyebrow, and sighed. "Will it stop your complaining?"

Connor waved a hand and put on a thoughtful face, "Might do."

"Connor, yes or no?"

His amusement washed away, and he said, rather sheepishly, "Yes. It will. Sorry."

* * *

><p>Abby was running through the darkness, her EMD banging against her back. The soldiers were behind her, but she didn't stop for them to catch up. Matt would lose it if they missed another anomaly.<p>

Night had completely taken over, and she caught sight of a flash of red as she ran past a rotted tree trunk - a fox. That was a good sign; if there's a fox alive, there most likely isn't any creatures waiting to ambush her. Not until she came accross the remaining raptors.

Becker had shot them all, but the sight of the sleeping dinosaurs still sent a shudder up Abby's spine. Her heart lifted at the flickering coming from behind a clump of trees. She'd found the anomaly.

"Hey!" she called, turning as the soldiers ran into view behind her. "I found it!

Keefe was first, and stopped with a disheartened groan. "How many of these things are there?"

"These are the last of them," said Abby. "Hopefully."

O'Brian was the first of the soldiers to properly acknowledge the anomaly, as the others started making hushed decisions about what to do with the raptors.

"Hey," called O'Brian to Keefe. "Pass the Locking Mechanism."

With the case in hand, O'Brian approached the anomaly. Abby watched him open it and point the device at the anomaly. As he brought his finger down to press the button, Abby took his arm. "Wait."

"What is it?" asked O'Brian.

"Let me have a look."

He stood up and faced her with a look of disbelief, "What? Abby, it's too dangerous."

"I just need a look," tried Abby. "Please. Just a look. Connor has the Dating Calculator and I have to see what time the anomaly leads to. Look at the erratic pattern," she gestured to the weak flicker of the pale anomaly. "The odds are that if this one leads to where I think it leads to, all of them do."

O'Brian glanced at the anomaly, and after a beat sighed heavily. "Fine. You can have a look. But no longer than a minute, understand?"

"Completely." smiled Abby, shrugging the EMD's strap off of her shoulder.

Stevenson and Keefe had run off, to get something to hold all the unconscious raptors so they can put them back through the anomaly. Abby took a breath, and despite the tug in her chest telling her to keep back, she stepped through.

Shards so similar to glass passed her, and warm air rushed onto her face, stinging her freezing skin. She stepped out of the anomaly into sunlight, and for a second she was blinded. Pointing the EMD in front of her, she blinked and the scenery faded into view through the yellow haze.

She was standing on a beach, and the heat was beating down on her. She was instantly regretting not taking her jacket off before entering. The sea was way out, and beside her were tall rocky cliffs. In the distance, catching her attention with low bellows, was a herd of parasaurolophus. In the sky, barely visable against the clouds, were the black outlines of some large pterosaurs.

This was definately the Creataceous era. Fear instincively gripped at her stomach, but she ignored it. This time she really was just a visitor in this world... this perfect world. Confusion entered her mind when she realised what she came through to try and find. There was nothing wrong; nothing seemed out of place.

Abby took a few steps forward into the warm sand, and instantly regretted her previous thought as the first smoking ball of flames hit the ground.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, and the review button is right there. I have almost ten chapters and only five reviews. Come on, people. <strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: One of those short chapters that are like a few drabbles combined here for you. I'll try my best to make the next one longer. Thanks to Hilary Parker and Kedern for adding this to Story Alert, and once again to Hilary Parker for reviewing :)**

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><p>Abby was thrown backwards through the anomaly, her feet flailing with a combination of shock and terror. O'Brian caught her before she fell on her back. Keefe had come back with a cart, and the raptors were still sleeping soundly atop its surface. On O'Brian's swift orders, Keefe rolled the cart into the anomaly and let it go.<p>

"Close it!" Abby yelled as soon as he stepped away, and O'Brian stumbled with the Locking Mechanism for a moment before the clear, wavy beam hit the anomaly, reducing it to a flickering ball.

"Are you ok?" asked O'Brian, steadying Abby.

"Fine," she replied, clearing her shaken throat. "But I think I found out what's causing these odd anomalies."

"We heard a crash." offered one of the soldiers.

Abby nodded, "Meteor showers. Must have been going on for days. They've affected the anomalies somehow."

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><p>"Matt? Matt? What happened? Is he ok? What happened?"<p>

Jess had left Connor pondering over the ADD as soon as she saw Matt re-enter the hub. She tried to read his face, but words started tumbling out of her mouth before she had the chance to think of something resembling not-obsessively worried to say.

"Woah," said Matt, placing his hands on Jess' shoulders. "Jess, calm down."

"I'm sorry, but, Becker? He is ok, right?"

Matt paused, but nodded. "He'll be ok, Jess, but after some time. He wa bitten by a venomous type of raptor; we thought using strong snake anti-venom would be enough due to the raptor's size."

"Thought?" repeated Jess, fighting the urge to babble again. Matt squeezed her shoulders.

"Let me finish. It did work, but only just. He'll need a lot of rest in order to recover properly."

"Can I see him? Please?"

"You know I'll say yes," said Matt innocently. "It's that insanely dedicated nurse you have to persuade."

As soon as Matt let go of Jess, she took down the corridor towards the medical bay as fast as her neon yellow high heels would take her. Matt walked up to Connor and the ADD.

"Ok, I think that should just about do it... oh, hi Matt. Has Jess gone to see Becker? How is he?"

"He's been better," Matt sighed. "Won't be on the field for a while, though."

"Oh," Connor was silent for a few seconds, before repeating himself. "Oh! I think I may have fixed the comms. It won't be perfect, but hopefully we'll be able to get something related to signal."

Connor turned on his own earpiece, and spoke the first few letters of the alphabet into it in a voice probably much louder than necessary. There was a beat in which a strange, crackling whining was all that came through, before he heard Abby's voice.

"Connor? Finally, you fixed the comms! How's Becker? And... why were you reciting the alphabet?"

"It's working," Connor told Matt, before speaking back to Abby. "The alphabet? Honestly, I don't know... I could've said a simple: 'Abby, are you there'. Becker'll be fine, and the comms signal isn't stable but should hold out for the time being. What's going on down there?"

Abby didn't reply. Seconds passed, and Matt could swear that he heard a shocked 'Oh my God' in the background, before Abby spoke again. Her voice was urgent, "I think you and Connor should get back here, and I'll show you."

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><p>Abby and the others were surrounded by them; pale, dwarfed, but still very real and dangerous. The anomaly Abby had stepped into was still locked, but the effort wasted on that seemed pointless now. Lighting up the forest to a point where it almost seemed like daytime, were anomalies. Ten, twenty, thirty.<p>

As far as the eye could see, silver anomalies were opening up. And with them came the terrified cries of creatures no doubtably looking for a way to escape the fireballs plagueing their home.

The first creature, a maelestes, crawled out from one of the farthest ones, and proceeded to scurry away on its short legs in evident relief. An EMD shot rang out and it fell, with a squeak, to the ground.

"We need to lock these, quickly." it was an order, not a statement.

Stevenson fixed Abby with a disbelieved glare, "We can lock fifteen of these things and it wouldn't make a dent."

"We have to try."

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry the last few chapters have been a bit dull. But bear with me. Thanks to Mijo54** **for joining the reviewers list :)**

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><p>Six years ago, Abby would never have thought that one day she would be caring for a prehistoric rodent. The sleeping maelestes was nestled like an infant in Abby's arms, its whiskers twitching at every sound. And there were a lot.<p>

All around were anomalies, some of them reduced to unaccessable orbs, but some still a threat. They had been luck where creatures were concerned, compared to what they had expected. Only the maelestes, an estesia, and a juvenile brachylophosaurus had come through, and all weren't going anywhere until the anomalies were stable.

The reason Abby was holding the maelestes was that as the soldiers started their task of trying to lock all the anomalies, O'Brian had noticed a deep gash on the animal's left hind leg. Abby suspected it had cut itself in the panic of trying to escape the meteors.

"Just had a thought," Keefe said, stopping beside her. "These meteors. This couldn't be it, could it? The event that killed the dinosaurs?"

For a horrible moment, when she had seen the first meteor, the same thought had entered Abby's mind too. "It can't be. We've already been through an anomaly leading to the time that happened, and this isn't the right time. Meteor showers happened leading up to that though, so it's close."

"When have you gone through before?"

"It was a long time ago."

"Well, that narrows it down."

Stevenson called him over, and Abby was left alone with the creatures again. A few of the soldiers had suggested just killing them if too many came through, but even as they said it Abby could see that they knew her answer. She had readily refused.

Stars were beginning to show through the blue clouds, and light from the crescent moon combined with the anomalies lights created a strangely iridescent haze. It would be beautiful if it weren't for the danger.

"Finally." Abby heard O'Brian say as footsteps approached behind her. Abby span around and saw Connor and Matt, both out of breath.

"Connor," said Abby, relieved. "There you are. Any new anomalies?"

"None. We would have called you if there were." he replied, embracing her and giving the maelestes a disbelieved stare. "Now, you gonna tell me about your new friend?"

"Oh," Abby gingerly stroked the rodent's wirey fur, and couldn't help imagining him and Rex trying to figure eachother out. "Yeah... he's injured."

Connor grinned quickly, and Matt interrupted them with a slight gesture to the anomalies. "Sorry to interject, but isn't there something we should be focusing on here?"

* * *

><p>"Only for ten minutes, ok, Jess?"<p>

Jess had to hold in her spiteful thoughts against the medic, but in what she hoped was her most charming voice, she replied, "Of course."

As the medic left, Jess went through the second door and into the ARC's medical room. Only one of the beds was occupied, and its patient was sitting atop its unmade surface, looking thoroughly depressed.

"Becker?" said Jess softly, feeling a sense of déjà vu. The time with the therocephalian had been exactly like this, only the damage done didn't nearly look as bad as this. Becker's right shoulder was heavily bandaged, and just visable between the bandages and the shirt sleeve were the infected veins Jess had read about in the symptoms of blood poisoning.

"Hey, Jess." he muttered, as she sat next to him. She dearly wanted to say something else, but she was never good at consoling. They sat for a moment, then Becker met her gaze and asked, "Shouldn't you be doing your job?"

"I have my earpiece. They'll be fine without me for ten minutes. Besides, the anomaly's still recieving late anomaly details; I doubt anything coming in will be of any use right now. Also... I needed to see how you were."

Becker smiled. "As awful as the physical pain is, I mainly feel confused."

"In what way?" asked Jess.

He shrugged, as best he could. "I don't know. A lot of what happened is a blur. The medics said it'll go away if I rest. Unfortunately, that's the problem."

"You've never been able to accept medical leave, have you?"

"Don't you find it infuriating?" countered Becker defiantly.

Jess scoffed. "I never get sick, in case you haven't noticed. Because I'm _careful_."

"That's why you wear metre-high heels, then, is it?"

Jess grinned. He was going to be ok.

* * *

><p>Lester looked over his paperwork and sighed. His cup of coffee still sat in the same spot as where he'd placed it an hour before, untouched and cold. Sometimes he really wished he'd stayed in management consultancy.<p>

His phone rang, and grateful for something - anything - else to do, he picked it up.

"James Lester."

He listened to the voice on the other side of the line, and his face slowly fell. This wasn't good.

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><p><strong>To RextheCoeulurosauruvus: the thought of making this story center on the extinction of the dinosaurs was the original plan, but then I remembered that it was already the plot from the Primeval novel Extinction Event, which I referenced. If you haven't read it, I really recommend it<strong>.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I have some people on Story Alert who haven't commented yet. Not trying to pressurize, but at least tell me what you think :) Another chapter that looked longer on Word here for you. Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p>"Jess?"<p>

"Surprised to see you away from your desk, Lester. Did it dump you?" the girl replied lightly, feeling considerably happier despite the team's current situation due to her positive visit to Becker.

"What have I told you about sarcasm, Jess?"

Jess shook her head, "Nothing at all, actually."

"Never mind," Lester said with an irritated sigh. "Can you get in touch with the others? There's been another kill."

"Oh my God." Jess immediately adjusted her earpiece and started scanning the news reports out of habit. "Where? Who?"

"Not too far from where the team are now, actually. And it was a couple going for a late night walk. One of them got out, but the other wasn't so lucky. The police haven't found the body as of yet, and it was in no way the work of a common wild animal."

Jess contacted Matt, "Guys, what's happening?"

"There are anomalies, Jess. Everywhere. We have them almost all closed, but creatures are coming through. Small ones so far, and no casual-"

"Not any more. A couple walking in the woods have been killed. Lester says not far from you, but I can't tell you exactly because this _stupid_ thing," she broke off to give the ADD a small kick. "Won't respond at all, now."

When Matt replied, his voice was urgent, "We're on it."

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><p>Matt and Connor tore through the trees, paying no attention to the brambles as their snarling branches caught on their clothes. Abby had stayed with the soldiers to help them finish locking the anomalies, and to take care of the maelestes and the other creatures.<p>

Because now, Connor and Matt could hear something in the distance; it's low rumbling growls mingled with something they couldn't place.

Dawn was beginning to peak out from behind the clumps of trees blocking patches of the sky, by the time the two of them reached a clearing. Connor almost collapsed from exhaustion, but Matt steadied him.

"Woah, steady on, mate. It wasn't that much of a run."

"You're kidding, right?"

Matt shrugged, and they heard a roar. The pair froze. That hadn't come from anyhing small. It was too deep, too loud, and without that realisation the thumps they were feeling through small vibrations on the ground wouldn't make any sense.

Connor frowned, and started muttering to himself, before saying louder, "That sounded... really large. So, therapod, obviously Cretaceous, presumably carnivorous... I hope it isn't another spino."

"You and me both, mate."

It was a small clearing, surrounded by trees in an almost perfect circular shape. Shrubs covered most of the dry dirt, and there was the small trickle of a narrow river running down the centre and into the trees. Connor narrowed his eyes, and scanned the foliage. The odd squirrell, a bird, a splash of red...

"Over there." said Connor, suddenly feeling slightly sick at what they might find.

Matt followed Connor's hand as he pointed out the splash, which was unmistakably blood. The older man bent down and dipped in two fingers, then grimacing when he brought them back up and tasted them. He stood back up and walked furthur along the faint blood trail.

"Oh, God." Connor heard Matt say when he joined him. Matt was standing over more blood, which was covering the dry grass and bushes. Nestled in between the bushes, was the mangled remains of a human body.

"Look at the clean wounds," Connor said, repulsed. Matt gave him a look. "Ok, not clean in the.. you know... _clean_ sense, but clean in the way that those wounds were evidently inflicted in one smooth motion. By one mouth."

"This is getting out of hand. We need to split up again."

"What? With this thing roaming around? Look what happened when Becker was alone, and that was by dinosaurs the size of peas!"

Matt chewed his cheek. "This animal, whatever it is, didn't come from one of those weaker anomalies. Assuming it's size to be around the tyrannosaurus', there's no way it would have been allowed. That means there's yet another anomaly here."

"It could have come through the larger anomaly Abby and the others locked, before they got there."

"Nah, there would have been signs. And this kill is fresh."

Connor threw up his hands, "Alright, fine. I would tell you to be careful, but that's a bit hypocritical coming from me, isn't it?"

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval.<strong>


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